Bill would erase records of those found not guilty
Legislation awaits Gov. Scott’s OK after unanimous approval
George Zimmerman, Casey Anthony and lesser-known people could have their court case records erased if Gov. Rick Scott signs a bill that sailed through the state Legislature on Friday.
Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, said the bill is designed to help regular people arrested for crimes that didn’t get as much attention. It allows them to apply for jobs or rent apartments without the burden of having a dropped criminal charge or online mugshot come up in a background check, he said.
“Especially if someone is innocent, how tragic would it be if this affected their future?” Plakon said.
But critics claim it would shield the public in knowing if a person was accused of the same crime but never convicted.
Current law says a person who was found not guilty at trial cannot have their record expunged. But that may change under the bill sponsored by Sen. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, that could be signed into law as early as next week. Plakon sponsored a similar bill in the house.
The House and Senate passed the bill unanimously.
The new legislation would also automatically seal records from the public of people who had their criminal charges dropped and would require companies who post their mugshots online to take the image down without requiring them to pay a fee.
Sealing means the records would not be accessible to the public while expunging means the records are erased. This bill would automatically seal a crim-
inal charge through FDLE and would allow a person found not guilty at trial to apply for the records to be expunged.
The sealed documents would apply to Florida Department of Law Enforcement records. So, for instance, if a prospective employer did a background check, a dropped charge would not show up in a criminal background check.
Records at county courthouses or on clerks’ websites would still remain public unless the person applies to have them sealed or expunged, according to the bill.
The bill would benefit people such as Demarquis Prince, who had first-degree attempted murder charges dismissed last week, advocates say.
Prince’s mother, Akiba Prince, said she supports the bill.
“If it’s not guilty or the charges are dropped, why would they still have that charge on their record?” she said. “That doesn’t make sense.”
Her son was released from jail after the victim recanted his testimony that identified Prince as the suspect.
Public-records advocates are concerned about the bill.
Barbara Petersen, president of the Florida First Amendment Foundation, said the records should be public.
“If a person is accused of sexual assault in four counties, but not convicted, it shows a pattern of criminal behavior,” she said. “I understand [a person] being given a second chance, but if you are acquitted or found not guilty, the records should be able to speak for themselves.”
Plakon said it’s about letting people move on with their lives without having a crime they were not found guilty of holding them back.
“Like it or not that, person is not guilty in the eyes of the law,” Plakon said.
To remove mugshots, the proposal would allow a person to write the website to ask the image to be taken down and the company would be required to do it within 10 days or face a daily $1,000 bond. There can also be civil action.
Petersen said she’s OK with that part, but is not sure it’s feasible because it can be hard to discern who owns the company and where it is located.
Plakon said it would allow attorneys to sue the companies.
Demarquis Prince was arrested in the Nov. 2 shooting of Dexter Hughley in Apopka.
Apopka police officers found Hughley, a 46-year-old manager at Wendy’s, shot several times inside his apartment. His burned-out car was found nearby.
Hughley’s niece said her uncle recently fired Prince.
Apopka police Detective John Reardon interviewed Prince at the hospital, but he could only nod or shake
The sealed documents would apply to FDLE records. So, for instance, if a prospective employer did a background check, a dropped charge would not show up in a criminal background check.
his head.
Hughley nodded when Reardon pointed to Prince’s photo in a lineup. Prince was arrested Dec. 2.
Hughley admitted last week Prince was not the shooter.
Capt. Randy Fernandez said in a statement detectives relied on Hughley’s identification and the case remains open.
Akiba Prince said she would like a public apology from the department. She said detectives did not investigate the case thoroughly. “It was devastating,” she said. “It was painful to know my son was locked up for something he didn’t do.”
Scott’s office said on Friday that the bill was under review.